The military ranks of the Colombian armed forces consist of the list and ordering of the different military ranks, for the Officers, Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and soldiers, seamen and airmen ("other ranks") of the Military Forces of Colombia.
The ranks are visually represented by insignias placed on the uniforms, usually at the shoulders, sleeves and shirt collars.
A literal translation from Spanish to English may be misleading as the rank names do not necessarily follow the customary order used in anglophone military ranks in all cases. Furthermore, Colombia is not a member of NATO, so there is not an official equivalence between the Colombian military ranks and those defined by NATO. The displayed parallel is approximate and for illustration purposes only.
Applicable law
The ranks in the Military Forces of Colombia are regulated through the following applicable legislation: the Decree-Law 1790 of 2000,[1] Law 1405 of 2010,[2] and Law 1792 of 2016[3]
In terms of protocol, the established order for the forces is Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, as established by the Military Rules of Protocol (Reglamento de Protocolo Militar FFMM)[4]
The Colombian Army is the largest of the three service branches of the Military Forces of Colombia, tasked with defending sovereignty and law and order across the national territory. The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Army personnel.[5][6]
Soldado: Conscripted soldier serving for a period of 22 months mandatory service [n 1].
Soldado Profesional: Regular soldiers that stay in the army after completing their 22 months' mandatory conscription service, making it a permanent career. The number in their rank insignia indicating the number of years they have served.
Additional ranks
Dragoneantes are soldiers who have gained recognition through their achievements and have special training. They have a certain degree of authority over regular soldiers.
The Colombian Navy (Spanish: Armada de la República de Colombia) is the maritime service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia, responsible for security and defense in both the Atlantic (Caribbean) and Pacific seas of Colombia, the extensive network of rivers inside the country, and a few small land areas under its direct jurisdiction. The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Navy personnel.[5][9]
In Colombia, the Marine Infantry is a Corps depending on the Colombian Navy and not a full service branch on its own. Being tasked with amphibious and riverine and littoral operations, the MI presents a combination of ranking names derived from the Army, combined with naval insignias. The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Marine Infantry personnel.[5]
The Colombian Aerospace Force is the service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia tasked with the protection and defense of the Colombian sovereign airspace.
The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Aerospace Force personnel.[5]
^In 2010, the Constitutional Court (Spanish: Corte Constitucional) on grounds of discrimination and protection of equal rights, issued an order[8] to the Military Forces to stop the classification of conscripts into "regular", "peasant" and "baccalaureate" (Spanish: "regular", "campesino" y "bachiller"), and to standardize the terms and conditions for all conscripts to 22 months.
Colombian National Army[7]
Colombian National Navy[10]
Colombian Naval Infantry[10]
Colombian Aerospace Force[11]
